A Promise Kept
by Neko Mastermind
Summary: Takes place a week after the fight with Shishio. Kenshin's recovering, Kaoru's worried....'nuff said. R & R!


**Rurouni Kenshin  
_A Promise Kept_**

A/N: *Blink* Argh, once again...never sticking to one fic....Gomen, minna-san, but C-Chan's having a lot of writer's block issues, and only one known cure I know is to write a short story! ^^ This story takes place right after the battle with Shishio...so, there's a few spoilers for the Kyoto Arc and all that goody good stuff. If anything seems wrong, please tell me? Arrigatou, Ja ne, and Review, onegai! 

Disclaimer: Hmm...lemme think: Do I own any Manga or Anime series? *thinks hard* Nope, sorry. I don't think 18 years olds are old enough to own that. Oh yeah, don't own Kenshin either. He belongs to Watsuki-sama! 

_One week._Kamiya Kaoru thought as she ascended the stairs of the Shirobeko, a tray of fresh bandages balanced carefully in her hands. _It's been one week since they returned from Shishio's arena._ A frown made it's way to her face as she remembered that night. 

She never had seen so much blood in her life, let alone from one person. Kenshin was covered in it, and he looked like a ghost of himself. His skin was pale, and his body was so damaged, no one could fathom that the great Himura Kenshin everyone believed in would allow himself to be injured like that. The thought sent chills down her spine. 

At that top of the stairs she proceeded a few steps until she stood in front of the room Kenshin had been occupying since he returned. He was still unconscious, but according to Megumi--she'd arrived a day or two ago--he should recover fully. That didn't mean Kaoru wasn't going to worry about the rurouni. 

Kaoru quietly slid the shouji open, peering in to see who was watching over Kenshin now. She was pretty sure the onna-sensei was in here, since she had instructed her to bring fresh bandages when she came to watch over Kenshin. But the tall figure leaning against the wall near Kenshin's futon said otherwise. Sagara Sanosuke looked up at Kaoru, then slowly stood up. 

"Sanosuke? Where's Megumi?" She whispered as Sanosuke came to stand in front of her. "The Fox needed some sleep, so I took over." He replied just as softly. 

Kaoru nodded and stepped forward, but stopped as Sanosuke's hand landed gently on her shoulder. "Don't worry so much, Jou-chan. Kenshin may look like hell, but he's going to be fine." 

Kaoru looked up at him and managed a smile. "Alright." She whispered. 

Sanosuke smiled and stuck his trademark fishbone into the corner of his mouth, then exited the room, closing the shouji as quietly as he could manage. The raven-haired girl stood where she was for a few more minutes, her eyes falling on the prone form of the rurouni. She was relieved to hear that his breathing was regular now, not shallow like it had been since he returned; that had worried her a lot. She closed her eyes to will her tears not to fall, yelling at her self mentally that there was no need to cry. _Kenshin's going to be fine!_ She scolded mentally. _Crying isn't going to help much anyway._

Kaoru approached the futon and knelt down, placing the tray next to her. Her eyes fell on his body again, and a tear managed to escape, sliding gently down her cheek. She hated seeing him like this. "Kenshin..." She whispered, taking his pale hand into hers. 

His hand was ice cold, and Kaoru felt another tear escape her eyes. _Crying isn't going to help!_ She repeated to herself again, shutting her eyes tightly. She opened them with a sigh, then brought her gaze to Kenshin's face. Despite all the wounds covering his body, despite all he through, he still had a serene look on his face as he rested. 

Kaoru was relieved to know he wasn't having nightmares. She couldn't count how many times back at the dojo she would be up late and hear thrashing from his room. And she'd always find him in the middle of a nightmare, screaming names she'd never heard before, or screaming the names of his friends. And she'd always rush in to comfort him, cradling him against her like a mother would to a child and whisper soft words to make him calm down. 

Kaoru felt Kenshin's hand tighten around hers, her eyes widening slightly. Was he waking up? Kaoru stared down at their hands for a moment, then back up to the rurouni's face. A pair of violet eyes were looking back at her. "Kaoru....dono..." 

The raven-haired girl smiled and leaned over him, taking her other hand to brush some of the crimson locks from his face. "You're finally awake..." She whispered, trying to hold back the new flow of tears threatening to fall. 

"Aa..." Kenshin replied, smiling a bit. 

Kaoru brought her hand down to cup Kenshin's scarred cheek. "You made me worry, Kenshin." 

"Sumanu..." Kenshin whispered, leaning his head slightly against Kaoru's hand. 

_She's safe..._ Kenshin thought, closing his eyes. "Minna...is everyone alright?" 

"Hai, everyone's just fine." Kaoru replied. 

As if to prove her point, a loud crashing sound came from downstairs, and the familiar voices of Yahiko and Sanosuke arguing arose. 

Kenshin managed a chuckle, and opened his eyes to look at Kaoru again. She was still smiling, but even in the dark room he could see the tears streaming down her face. He freed his hand from Kaoru's and weakly lifted it up, trying to brush the tears from her eyes. "Why...are you crying?" 

Kaoru caught his hand and kissed it, then pushed it back down to his side. "I'm just happy you're alright..." She whispered, her voice a bit shaky. 

A memory suddenly flooded Kenshin's mind. Right before Shishio's death, he had used his sword to pierce through Yumi's body into his own. As he laid there, his life's blood pouring from his body, he decided he'd done all he could. He had given it his all and then some, protected Japan like he was supposed to. Then her face appeared in front of him. Her words echoed in his head, a simple promise made before he left to fight. _Let's go back to Tokyo, together._ These simple words gave him the strength to continue. 

"Sessha...can keep his promise...de gozaru..." Kenshin whispered, feeling the weight of exhaustion on his tired body. 

Kaoru's smile grew and she leaned over to place a kiss on his forehead. "Hai, you can." 

Kenshin mumbled a reply, closing his eyes as he gave in to the sleep his body was yearning for. 

"We can go back to Tokyo together." Kaoru whispered, wiping some of the tears from her face. 

"Together.." Kenshin whispered before falling completely asleep. 

A/N: Short, yet sweet, with a TINY bit of WAFF added for flavor. There aren't many stories written during the month between the fight with Shishio and Kenshin visiting Tomoe's grave...I honestly thought there'd be a whole bunch, yet I've only read probably 4. *Shrug* Guess that's just my weird way of thinking. Anyway, please tell me what you think? Flames are welcome, *Motions to her flame-resistant omnitsu outfit*, but comments are even more welcomed!


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